Bienvenidos a la Jungla

Finally we made it out of the smoggy boggy city. We did leave some friends behind in San José, but we are totally relieved to be breathing the mountain jungle air. We are in Arenal now. It’s hard for me to believe, but we are actually paying less to be here than we did to be in the San José slum hostel. Jared set up a deal with the owner of an inn. We are doing a very minimal amount of caretaking in exchange for cheap rent, and believe it or not, the place isn’t being run by rabid Christians!

We boarded a bus out of the city and somehow ended up in magical tropical paradise. It’s been quite the culture shock. Not a bit of ugly razor wire in sight.

The bus ride to Arenal was about 3 1/2 hours followed by another 45 min. ride. In between buses we grabbed casados (typical rice+beans fare) at a soda (streetside café).

Last time we were on a long bus ride was the night bus back from Jaco to San José, Jared had to peepee en una botella. It almost happened on this ride too, but luckily as he was just about to go for it we realized that we were only 10 km away and he was able to hold out. My technique is to hydrate a lot about 5 hours before the bus ride then piss as much as possible just before boarding. Then I don’t drink a drop of water during the ride. This method seems to work pretty well.

Just before we boarded the second much tinier bus from Tilaran to Arenal, a bunch of hippies with surfboards hopped off a bus from Puntarenas and onto our bus. Each one of them had a huge backpack. During the ride, some of the schoolboys behind us kept making wookie sounds. I don’t know if it was due to one of the gringa’s dreads or Jared’s gringo beard, but the kids thought we were some weird lookin’ white people. The bus climbed a bit and suddenly came over the mountains and we saw the beautiful Lake Arenal.

Which brings us to paradise. Our new spot is in the rainforest right along a river that flows down into an enormous lake. We have gone from sharing bathrooms with prostitutes and the people who sleep with them to having a fully furnished giant studio apartment with a living room, kitchen, and huge shower. There’s even a freakin’ pool here! Our audible environment has gone from cars honking and screeching to birds, bugs, howler monkey screeches and the river’s constant rush. It’s not quiet here at all. The jungle is loud as hell, but it’s a brilliant cacophony of sound, and once you are here long enough you start to realize that there is a rhythm of the night.


Our apartment overlooks the river, which is about 30 feet below. We went exploring in the river yesterday and followed it all the way up to the road. Then we had to climb a giant steep hillside that you won’t see any photos of because Jared kept getting thorns suck in his feet. I climbed up in about 5 minutes and had to wait an extra 10 for ol’ Jared. Crocs™ might look stupid, but they sometimes serve a purpose.

Here we are by the river and that’s our new crib in the background.

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